


red fish and white picket fences

by pretty_bois



Series: a day in the life [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, Billy's a hot dad who'd have thought, Fluff, Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mom Steve, Nail Polish, The Camaro - Freeform, good dads, tbh it's mostly fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 21:05:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17732645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretty_bois/pseuds/pretty_bois
Summary: Billy used to think that the “domestic married with kids” life was one he’d never want for himself. The white picket fence with 2.5 kids and a dog just wasn’t for him. But fast forward thirteen years, and here he is at his kitchen table with his daughter on his lap. They’re surrounded by dozens of bottles of nail polish, his beautiful husband in front of the oven baking them cookies and wearing a “Kiss the Cook” apron. And he’s the happiest he’s ever been, living this disgustingly domestic life.





	red fish and white picket fences

**Author's Note:**

> howdy friends
> 
> This is actually set in the same universe as my other fic "i wanna know what love is." That being said, you don't need to read that one to understand this one. There're just a few references here and there that are more fun if you've read the other.  
> hope you enjoy :)  
> (please leave me comments I thrive off of constructive criticism)  
> (and find me on tumblr @pretty-bois if you want!)

Billy used to think that the “domestic married with kids” life was one he’d never want for himself. The white picket fence with 2.5 kids and a dog just wasn’t for him. But fast forward thirteen years, and here he is at his kitchen table with his daughter on his lap. They’re surrounded by dozens of bottles of nail polish, his beautiful husband in front of the oven baking them cookies and wearing a “Kiss the Cook” apron. And he’s the happiest he’s ever been, living this disgustingly domestic life.  
The little girl grabbed a bright red shade and handed it to Billy.  
“I like this one. Do you think we’ll get to see any red fish tomorrow?”  
“Well, of course, Nikki! We’ll see fish in all different colors, even fish who are tons of colors at once. We might even see a shark!” Billy snapped his jaw shut and bared his teeth at the girl who giggled and bared her own little teeth right back at him. She turned towards Steve and did the same to him, and he yelped and jumped in exaggerated fear.  
“Dad, are you excited for tomorrow?” She asked Steve, while Billy began to carefully paint her nails.  
“Mm-hm, I haven’t been to an aquarium since I was a kid and I loved it back then. We’re gonna have a great time.”  
“I think it’s gonna be really cool! Oh! Do you think I’ll see a mermaid Daddy?” She asked, suddenly very excited at the idea.  
“I don’t know bud, mermaids are very smart so they’re really hard to find,” Billy explained, perfectly logically.  
“Oh yeah. That makes sense. We have to go to the ocean so I can see a real live mermaid.”  
“We will one day, Nicks,” Steve assured her, “I’d love to visit Daddy’s old home in California, and I know he’d love to visit the beaches again.”

\---

Steve looked over at Billy, who was deep in thought. He’d finished painting Nikki’s nails and was now painting his own the same vibrant red—she always insisted that they match. But Steve knew exactly what Billy was thinking, and after he had set the cookie tray in the oven he sent Nikki out to watch TV in the other room.  
“Hey, baby, it’ll be alright,” Steve said, standing behind Billy and rubbing his shoulders, “I know you’re nervous, and I know the other parents can be judgmental assholes, but we’re gonna prove that we’re better than all of the other damn parents. I promise you.”  
Billy sighed and leaned into Steve’s touch, finishing up his last nail and screwing the lid back on the bottle carefully.  
“I know, I’m mostly worried about what homophobic bullshit might’ve been fed to their children. I don’t want Nikki to be made fun of for her two dads, I don’t want her to be ashamed of us.”  
“Oh Billy, no. I know we can’t control other kids or what their parents teach them, but we can teach her what real love is. And she’ll spend every day of her life knowing that she’s loved more than anything in this world by her dads. And she’ll grow up knowing what a healthy relationship looks like because her dads love each other almost as much as they love her. And I know I love you a lot. Like, so much.”  
Billy snickered at that and turned to look Steve in the eyes, “I love you too, pretty boy.”  
Steve smiled at the old nickname and kissed Billy until he heard the ding of the timer. He broke away to grab the tray out of the oven, already hearing Nikki running out into the kitchen.  
“Cookies!” She exclaimed excitedly, blonde curls bouncing around her head as she hopped up into her seat. Billy couldn’t help but smile even wider and he kissed the top of her head.

\---

“Steve, you’re not going to wear that, are you?” Billy asked his floral shirt clad husband while buttoning most of the buttons on his own shirt for once.  
“Um, yes, I am actually. It’s a great shirt. What’s wrong with it?” Steve asked, looking at Billy in the mirror.  
“No, it’s fine, nothing's wrong with it. It’s just. . . really gay.”  
At that, Steve stopped and turned towards Billy, who was leaning heavily against the sink, his head hung low.  
“Billy. Gay is ok. Gay is great. I know you know that. I’m gonna look so damn gay, and it’ll be fine. Don’t let the fear make you think otherwise, ok?” Steve hugged Billy tightly and went to help Nikki get dressed.  
Billy was left to decide if he was going to be himself like Steve, or play it safe and put on a façade for the other parents.

“Fuck it.” He whispered to himself, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his red shirt and throwing on his beloved leather jacket. He walked out into the hall and was immediately ambushed by a tiny child in overalls grabbing onto his leg.  
“Agh, oh no! I’m going down! This is the end for me, tell Dad I’ll love him even in the afterlife, say hi to the red fish for me. . . “ He said dramatically, falling to the floor with a flourish. Nikki laughed and fell to the floor with him, still holding his leg when Steve stepped out of her room and found them on the floor.  
“Nicks, what happened here?” He said, trying to sound concerned.  
“Daddy told me to tell you that he loves you in the afterlife.”  
“He was such a drama queen.”  
Billy opened one eye and looked up at Steve, “I might be dead but I can still hear you.”  
“Alright alright, come on guys. We’ve gotta go or we’ll be late! Which car are we taking, Billy?”  
Nikki gasped and jumped up.  
“Daddy can we take the Camaro?? Please, can we take it? Please please pleeeease?” Billy smiled at her and stood up.  
“Alright alright. We’ll take the Camaro. Steve, do you mind grabbing the keys and setting up her car seat? I’ll finish getting her ready.” Steve nodded and gave Billy a peck on the cheek before grabbing the keys and heading outside.  
“Alright bud let's go grab your shoes.”  
Nikki smiled up at him while he ruffled her curls and then she ran off to grab her tiny Converse.

\---

Ever since Nikki had been born, the Camaro had been seeing less and less of the road. Billy just decided that it probably wasn’t best to drive erratically with a child in the backseat, and the Camaro always made him want to drive fast.  
But just because he didn’t drive it every day doesn’t mean he just let it sit in the garage. He kept up with the maintenance, driving it every so often on dates with Steve when they wanted to feel like teenagers again. He even took Nikki for rides around the town sometimes, playing his favorite (child-friendly) songs from the 80s.  
So it was weird driving it up to the school through a parking lot filled with minivans. Billy was playing “Juke Box Hero” (a song that was currently making him a bit more nervous than he’d like to admit), as per Nikki’s request, with the windows down. Billy felt a sense of pride along with his nerves as other dads stared longingly at his car, likely remembering their own cars from when they were young. Cars that their wives made them trade in for something “more practical”.  
He pulled into a spot in the back of the lot, rolled up the windows, and shut off the car. It was moments like these that made Billy wish he hadn’t stopped smoking when Nikki entered the picture. He needed the calming feeling of a cigarette between his lips, especially now when he felt so much like he had on prom night years ago. Steve put a hand on his shoulder and whispered to him. They sat in the quiet for a few minutes, until Nikki‘s worried voice piped up from the back seat.  
“Daddy, are you okay?” She reached her hand out and put it on Billy’s other shoulder, mimicking Steve, and Billy took a deep breath and grinned at them both.  
“I’m fine bud, you ready to introduce us to all of your friends?”  
“Yeah! Let’s go!”  
Steve looked Billy in the eyes, “I love you. Don’t worry.” Billy nodded and Steve stepped out of the car and pushed his seat forward to help Nikki unbuckle, and the three of them walked into the school together, Nikki between them holding both of her dads’ hands tightly.

\---

“That’s Alex and we play on the playground a lot, he’s really fast. That’s Liam and we’re partners for activities because he’s really smart. That’s Olivia, she has really pretty hair and she lets me braid it, just like you taught me, Daddy! Oh! And that’s Mia and she has lots of really nice toys.” Nikki was pointing out all of her friends in the lunchroom, waving to them all. A few heads were turning in their direction. There were some questioning glances, a few knowing ones, fewer disgusted ones.  
Billy was suddenly self-conscious of his tight jeans for the first time ever, but Steve was fucking cool as a cucumber in his flowery shirt. All he wanted was to reach out and hold Steve to him to calm his nerves but they had decided before to be very limited with their affection in public, to keep their daughter safe, and to keep themselves safe. They also chose to call themselves “partners” when they’re not with close friends and family to stay away from stupid questions about marriage and the annoying pain that those questions bring with.  
A very short woman was pulled over to them by her very excited son who ran up to Nikki right away.  
“Hi there! I’m Sandy, Alex’s mom, ” she said, firmly shaking both of their hands while they introduced themselves, “You must be Nikki’s father! And Steve, you are. . . ?” She looked at Steve apologetically, and Steve shifted uncomfortably. Because Nikki was Billy’s biological daughter, it was always correctly assumed that he was her father, but Billy hated that the confusion was constantly directed towards Steve.  
“Her other Dad. Billy and I are partners.”  
“Oh! I’m so sorry, that’s wonderful!” She said, embarrassed by her mistake.  
“Don’t worry about it, it’s an easy mistake to make.” Steve smiled warmly at her, and Billy’s nerves were slightly lessened because Sandy didn’t seem to mind their relationship.  
“I’ve heard so much about your daughter, Alex said she’s really good at basketball, and I understand why now. Two fit dads, did you two teach her?”  
“For sure, she’s a very active girl and we thought basketball was a great way for her to expel some of that energy.” Billy laughed and Steve added on.  
“Too bad she’s too young to join a team, but as soon as she can she’ll be tearing up the court.”  
“I don’t doubt that!” Sandy said, laughing loudly.  
A woman walked up to the front of the room right near Steve and Billy and tried to get everyone’s attention.  
“Ahem, excuse me, everyone. May I have your attention, please. Excuse me!”  
Billy recognized her as Nikki’s soft-spoken teacher, knew she’d never get the crowd to hear her, and whistled loudly. Everyone quickly quieted down and she blushed and shot him a thankful glance.  
“Thank you. Hello everyone, I’m Miss Taylor, for anyone who doesn’t know, and I’m very glad you all took time out of your busy days to help the students have a great field trip! I have my student teacher passing out directions to the aquarium as well as group assignments to split up the kids amongst the chaperones, and yes you will be with your own child. We’ll have four parents per each group of six kids.”  
A man walked up to Steve and Billy and handed them each a sheet of paper that Nikki immediately grabbed from Billy.  
“Daddy Daddy look! We get to be with Mia, Owen, Darren, Sophie, AND Alex!”  
“Hey, looks like we’re in charge of six crazy kids together.” Sandy chuckled, high-fiving Steve.  
She excused herself to go find out if the other kids had rides to the aquarium and to find Mia’s mom, Vivian, who they’d be walking around with. That left Billy and Steve in charge of Alex, who was staring at Billy curiously.  
“I like your jacket.”  
“Why, thank you.”  
“So you’re both Nikki’s dads?”  
“Mm-hm, Mr. Steve and I are her dads.”  
“Sweet. I didn’t know you could do that. My dad’s pretty cool, it’d be awesome to have two dads. But my mom is nice too.” The kid looked really torn between the greatness of his own parents and the idea of having two dads for a few seconds before Billy chuckled and ruffled Alex’s hair. He flashed a crooked toothy smile up at him before seeing his mom and running up to her.  
“Alright, it looks like the other kids are all getting a ride in Vivian’s mini-van. Do you want to carpool? We can take either of our cars, I don’t mind.” She asked Billy.  
“Yeah, that’d be great,” Billy turned to look at Steve. “Babe, you wanna take Sandy’s car or the Camaro?”  
Sandy’s jaw dropped, “Wait, did you just say Camaro?”  
Billy didn’t know what to do. Thoughts were racing through his head, her reaction didn’t look like a good one and Steve was quiet next to him.  
“Uh, yeah. Is that alright? We don’t have to take my car if—“  
“Can we PLEASE take your car? My boyfriend back in high school had one and we had such a good time in that car.” She winked at Billy and he burst out laughing he was so relieved.  
”We can definitely take my car, it’s parked in the back of the lot. We’ll take Alex and wait with the kids by the car while you grab his car seat if you want?”  
“You’re amazing, I’ll meet you guys out there in a second!” She waved excitedly and rushed out the door.

\---

Alex was almost as excited by the car as his mom was.  
“This is SOOO cool! I can’t believe we get to take this car instead of my mom’s dumb minivan!”  
Steve and Billy laughed and Steve turned to Billy.  
“See? I told you it’d be alright!”  
“Hey, we still haven’t even made it to the aquarium yet. But I will admit, it’s been okay so far.” Billy reached for Steve’s hand and—  
“AHH!”  
The loud squealing yell came from behind them and Billy quickly pulled away, turning around. He saw Sandy running up smiling widely, blonde bob bouncing around her face.  
“It’s even the same color!” She said, oblivious to Billy’s sudden panic.  
“Come on Alex, time to get in. I’ll sit in the middle so the kids can be buckled safely.”  
“I’ll get the seat, hang on a sec,” Steve said, hurrying around the car to help Sandy throw the car seat back and get Alex settled in.  
“Good thing I’m tiny, I fit perfectly back here.” Sandy giggled, squished in between the kids but still looking exceptionally comfortable. Steve and Billy got into the car and Billy revved the engine for Sandy who whooped and everyone laughed, the kids replicating Sandy’s excited noise.  
“Dad! Put on the hobo song!”  
Billy laughed and Steve opened up the glove box looking for the right cassette. Billy had a thing about only using cassettes in the Camaro, he liked the nostalgia of it. Billy rolled down the windows and pulled out of the parking lot  
“The hobo song?” Sandy asked, likely expecting a weird kids song and not the Whitesnake that came pouring out of the speakers. “Here I Go Again” was one of the songs Billy and Nikki liked to listen to together, and it always made him happy when she requested it.  
“This is taking me way back guys,” Sandy said, smiling widely in the back, hair flying around her face. Alex was clearly in awe at the cool dad driving the car, and Nikki sang along to the music with Billy who had finally reached over and grabbed Steve’s hand to hold on the center console between them.

\---

They pulled up to the aquarium, and Billy once again parked in the back, all while the kids bounced in their seats chanting something about octopi and squids. Steve got out and Sandy was already helping the kids unbuckle to get out. One by one they all filed out of the car, Steve grabbing onto Nikki’s hand to keep her from wandering and Sandy doing the same for Alex.  
“Alright,” Billy, unfolded his page of instructions and read aloud as they walked into the building with him leading the way, “so we’re supposed to meet in the lobby at 9 am, which is now, and then we can take our kids wherever we like. At noon we’ll go to the cafeteria for lunch and find the group again so Miss Taylor can count the kids and make sure no one’s missing, and then at exactly 3 pm we head back to the lobby for another count and then we go back to the school and go home. Easy enough.”  
As they waited, surrounded by all the parents, Billy could feel the nerves creeping up on him again. But those feelings soon fell away when he felt Nikki’s free hand reach up to grab his.  
“You ready for the fish, bud?”  
“Yeah!”  
Sandy had just wandered away with Alex to find Vivian and her kids when Miss Taylor walked over to Billy.  
“Hello Mr. Hargrove, I haven’t seen you around in a while!” She said, sidling up beside him.  
“Please, call me Billy. But yeah, I know, now that it’s spring, work at the shop has been really busy. Haven’t had too much time, but I’m glad I could come today for Nikki.” He hugged an abruptly shy Nikki to his side. Miss Taylor grinned at the affection and twirled a piece of hair around her finger.  
It was obvious, Billy knew she had a thing for him. And Billy knew it was partially his fault, due to his flirty personality and assumed “single dad” status. Not to mention the fact that Billy doesn’t exactly hide his body. As someone who works out daily and tries to stay in shape, why would he? He could see Miss Taylor staring at his exposed chest, and Steve watching the conversation out of the corner of his eye (he had told Steve all about this woman) and decided this was the perfect time to introduce the two of them.  
“Ah, Miss Taylor, I’d like for you to meet someone.”  
“Oh?”  
“This is Steve,” Billy said, gently pulling Steve forward, around Nikki who was still staring up at her teacher, “my partner.” She looked confused.  
“Hi. What do you mean by. . .” The confusion flipped to understanding and then flipped again to disappointment.  
“Oh. Alright. Nice to meet you, Steve, I. . . have to go talk to the other parents.”  
Steve waved but her back was already turned. Billy couldn’t help but laugh, and Steve hit his arm lightly.  
“Stop it! She liked you!”  
“It’s not my fault I’m irresistible.” Steve hit his arm again a little harder but laughed along with him and twined their fingers together on his free hand.  
“Daddy, I think Miss Taylor wanted to kiss you. She was talking the same way Dad does when he wants to kiss you.” Nikki said matter-of-factly. Steve turned red at that and Billy snorted, laughing even harder.  
“I think you’re right about that, bud.”

A few moments later, Sandy returned, trailed by a tall brunette woman with impeccable long hair surrounded by five kids. Slightly winded, Sandy said, “It took me a minute but I finally found them all!”  
“Great! Hi Vivian, I’m Billy.”  
“And I’m Steve, nice to meet you.”  
The smile previously plastered onto her face immediately fell while she looked them both up and down, pulling a small pigtailed girl who looked just like her around her back away from them.  
Billy was confused by the rudeness before he realized she was staring at his hand still clasped in Steve’s. His stomach dropped. He tried to pull away but Steve held tighter, a reflex from their teenage years when Billy’s temper took over much too quickly.  
“Oh. I see what’s going on here. I’m taking my daughter and we’re going home. I don’t want Mia exposed to such deliberate sinning. I don’t even want her in the same building,” her face was contorted in disgust when she dealt a final, loud blow, “Go to hell,” She growled, turning around and walking away quickly, dragging her daughter roughly, heels clicking on the tile floor.  
The room was silent, most parents stared at the woman storming away, but some glared at Steve and Billy and took their groups in the opposite direction.  
Sandy sighed loudly and stood taller, gathering the kids around herself.  
“Well, she’s a bitch. Glad she left. Kids, I’m sorry you had to see that,” Sandy looked up at Billy and Steve apologetically, “I’m gonna take the kids to the tide pools, please find somewhere quiet and hang out for a second. That was horrible and I’m so sorry.”  
Smiling sadly, Steve thanked Sandy. Billy was still stoic and unmoving. She tugged Nikki gently away, whispering that everything would be fine.  
“Your Daddy just needs a minute, he’ll be right back. Don’t worry honey.”

\---

Steve had managed to drag Billy out of a side exit, and they were sitting in the shade beside the building. Billy’s head was in Steve’s lap, and he was running his hands through Billy’s hair, letting him talk through his thoughts.  
“I’m not surprised,” Billy began, “and I’m not ashamed of us. I’m just pissed that she would do something like that in front of our child. In front of her OWN child. What kind of fucking person does that, Steve? Her poor daughter looked so upset. I didn’t even see Nikki’s reaction I was so fucking mad,” Billy’s eyes went wide, “Oh god. What if she hates us now, what if she thinks we’re disgusting sinners?”  
“Billy, slow down. Remember what I said last night? That would never happen. She’s an intelligent, caring girl. She knows that woman was an idiot with archaic principles. . . In much simpler terms. Plus, I doubt she even knows what a sinner is.”  
Billy breathed deeply and looked up at Steve lovingly, “You’re right. Fuck that lady. She’s not going to ruin this for us.” Billy stood up and stuck his hand out to help Steve up.  
“I’m done being scared, I’m done with people thinking two guys can’t raise a child, and I’m especially done with not being able to show the world how much I fucking love you, Steve Harrington.” Billy pulled Steve against him and kissed him dizzyingly hard, and he felt seventeen again. He felt the same passion his teenage self did when he kissed Steve in the school hallway so long ago.  
“And we need to invite Sandy over for dinner sometime. She’s great.”

\---

Back inside the building, Billy saw Nikki sitting next to Sandy, scanning the crowd, searching for her dads. The look on her face broke his heart, but he refused to let her be sad a second longer. He looked at Steve, slid an arm around his waist and they walked up to the group smiling.  
“Dad, Daddy!” Nikki gasped running over to Steve and Billy who picked her up and spun her around.  
“I‘m sorry, that lady said some really mean things. But don’t worry, I won’t be friends with Mia anymore.”  
“No no honey,” Steve said quickly, “it’s alright for you to be friends with Mia. As long as she doesn’t say the same mean things as her mom. Just because her mom believes some bad things, doesn’t mean she does,” Nikki nodded and Billy wanted to cry, he loved Steve so much in that moment. And in every other moment.  
“Alright kids!” He announced, “Let’s go find some fish!” Billy let Nikki climb up onto his back and off they went, straight for the red fish.  
“Daddy! They match our nails, look!” She put her tiny fingers next to a fish on the glass and Billy did the same.  
“It’s a perfect match, bud! Great color choice.” She giggled and hugged his arm.  
They visited the shark tank next, the boys and Nikki chomp chomp chomping with Billy. Sophie, a small girl with big glasses, hid behind Steve, who she had taken a liking to. At the dolphin tank, the girls had Steve and Billy hold them up for a better look and a dolphin swam right up next to them. Some other kids saw this happening and scurried up for a turn to see the dolphins up close.  
After Billy and Steve had finished their arm workout for the day lifting all the kids, they turned around to see Nikki beaming up at them. “You guys are so cool!”  
Steve kneeled down and hugged her close, “You’re even cooler Nicks.” Billy joined the hug, squeezing them both tightly before standing and kissing her extra crazy hair. He turned around to see Darren and Owen sitting on a bench by Sandy together.  
“Hey, what do you guys want to see next?” He held out a map of the place, pointing out things he thought the kids would enjoy before Owen grabbed his finger.  
“You painted your nails.”  
“Mm-hm, Nikki wanted to match so we matched.”  
“I didn’t know boys could paint their nails.”  
“Oh, they can for sure. Boys can paint their nails, and girls can wear their hair short.”  
Owen’s face brightened.  
“So. . . So I can paint my nails too if I want?” He asked quietly.  
“Yes! Of course!” Billy said, “if you ever want to come over for a play date with Nikki, I can even paint them for you.”  
“That sounds great Mr. Billy!”  
He smiled toothlessly up at Billy.  
“Our Dad told us that the gays are bad people,” Darren said quietly and out of the blue, and Billy bristled, ready to tell him off. Until he continued, “but I think he’s wrong. You’re pretty cool Mr. Billy, and a lot nicer than our dad,” He stuck out his little fist and Billy fist bumped the kid, who was smiling from ear to ear. He felt for the twins with their matching brown military buzzcuts and saw his childhood self in them both.

\---

They stopped for lunch, all of the kids ordering chicken nuggets because, well, chicken nuggets are great. Billy may have taken one or two of Nikki’s.  
Soon after, they continued through the aquarium. Sophie held Steve’s hand most of the time, apparently afraid of the crowds of people.  
They visited the squids and the kids stared into the clouds of ink. They visited the octopi and the kids marveled at their tentacles. They couldn’t really tell the difference between the two, but they still loved them.  
It may have seemed that they were aimlessly touring the aquarium, but Steve, who was unofficially in charge of the map, had told Billy he had a plan, and their very last stop before departing for the day was exactly what he had hoped it’d be.  
“Wow!  
“Whooaa!”  
“Mom, Mom look at those things!”  
“They’re gigantic!”  
“Daddy, Dad what are those?!?”  
“Those,” Steve announced loudly and excitedly, “are whale sharks. The biggest fish in the whole sea.” A chorus of oohs and ahhs arose from the kids around him.  
Billy was so proud of his aquatically knowledgeable man.  
They stayed at the exhibit for longer than any other, appreciating the spotted beauties. But 3 o’clock came much too quickly and they were saying goodbye to Darren, Owen, and Sophie who were being taken back to the school by another parent. Sophie hugged Steve tightly before leaving, and Billy thought it was the sweetest damn thing ever. It suddenly dawned on him how much Nikki had softened him, but he didn’t mind.  
She and Alex had been severely tired out by the trip so Steve carried Nikki on his back and Billy held Alex, small Sandy grateful for the help. Steve told her that it was the least they could do since she had been so kind to them.  
They got back into the car, and the kids immediately drifted off to sleep, and Sandy took the opportunity to tell Billy and Steve about her experiences in the backseat of her high school boyfriend’s Camaro, and the adults held back laughter the whole way back to the school.  
Sandy and Alex got out, the little boy rubbing his eyes and waving bye.  
“Do you two want to come over for dinner sometime this week? I know my husband would love to see your car, Billy.”  
“Oh, so he’s the old boyfriend?”  
She nodded happily, “High school sweethearts. And I love him just as much today as I did when I was seventeen.”  
Billy and Steve were floored by that glaring similarity between themselves and Sandy and her husband.  
“We’d love to have dinner, we already have your number from the chaperone sheet. We’ll call you later, alright?”  
“Sounds great Steve, we’ll see you guys later.”  
They got back into the Camaro, Nikki still asleep in the backseat. Billy let out a long sigh, and it felt as if he’d been holding his breath all day long. He could finally breathe.  
“You alright, baby?”  
“I’m more than alright. That was better than I could’ve imagined. I love it when you’re right.” Billy pushed Steve’s hair behind one ear and leaned over the center console to kiss his temple.  
“That’s good because I’m always right.”  
Billy and Steve dissolved into quiet laughter as they drove home, to their perfect picket fence in their perfect little neighborhood with their perfect almost marriage and perfect little girl. The domestic life was definitely the life for Billy.


End file.
